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Kritzerland is extremely happy to announce a new limited edition cast album, the first-ever CD release for:
A TIME FOR SINGING
Original Broadway Cast Recording
Music by John Morris
Lyrics by Gerald Freedman and John Morris
Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel, How Green Was My Valley, was a popular success, so much so that Twentieth Century-Fox purchased the screen rights immediately and released their Academy Award-winning film version just two years later. The film itself is very musical, with its beautiful score by Alfred Newman, and a lot of townspeople singing a lot of tunes. So, it must have seemed a natural for such a musical property to be turned into an actual musical, and in 1966 that’s exactly what happened with the aptly retitled A Time for Singing. The team responsible for musicalizing How Green Was My Valley was first-time Broadway composer John Morris, and first-time book and lyric writers Gerald Freedman and Morris.
An impressive cast was assembled, including Shani Wallis, Laurence Naismith, Tessie O’Shea, and Ivor Emmanuel. The choreographer was Donald McKayle, and the sets were by the great Ming Cho Lee, lighting by Jean Rosenthal, and costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge. Orchestrations were by Don Walker and the musical direction by Jay Blackton – in other words, a Class A cast and creative team straight down the line. A Time for Singing opened on Broadway on May 21, 1966 after ten previews. The show received humdrum reviews and closed after only forty-one performances. Over the years, a cult has grown for A Time for Singing, thanks to its excellent cast recording that was issued by Warner Bros. Records. The score is beloved by hordes of theater music fans and the album was always a sought-after collector’s item. It has taken a long time to bring it to CD, and we’re thrilled to be the ones to do it. Perhaps the show will be rediscovered – certainly the score is worthy of rediscovery, with John Morris’s lush and beautiful music, and excellent lyrics by Morris and Freedman.
For this first-ever CD release, the original album masters were used – they were in pristine condition and the sound is absolutely stunning. So, here, finally, is A Time for Singing and it is indeed truly a time for singing.
Check out our companion release – the first time ever complete soundtrack release to How Green Was My Valley, the source for A Time For Singing. Score by Alfred Newman. Get both – a perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
This edition is limited to 1500 copies only. The price is $19.98 plus shipping.
CDs will ship the last week of April, however we may get them in earlier and if so will ship immediately. No promises, but that’s always our hope. To place an order, see the cover, or hear audio samples, just visit www.kritzerland.com.
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Will be live at Kritzerland at six in the morning.
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I recommend that everyone listen to the samples - if you're a fan of John Morris' film scores, this is simply some of the best music he's ever written - in John's opinion it IS the best.
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Shani Wallace is perhaps best know for playing Nancy in the movie version of Oliver. I'm looking forward to getting this. (What, it's not here yet?  )
I spoke to Shani and her reminiscences about the show are in the booklet.
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Wanted to revive this thread to let all New York City-area FSM members know that the York Theatre will be producing a concert reading of this rarely performed gem. It's part of their popular "Musicals in Mufti" program (essentially, scripts in hand, actors in black, and a piano - though sometimes they add another musician or two), and it's playing for three weekends - so if you can, you should make sure to see it, and show support for this really magnificent score. I'm going to try and make it down from the wilds of New Hampshire for a performance, myself.
Performances are October 25-26, 29-31, and November 1-2. More information here: http://www.yorktheatre.org/2014-15-mufti-season.html
(Also on the film music front, the show being produced just prior to "A Time for Singing" is the New York premiere of the revised version of David Shire & Richard Maltby, Jr.'s "Big" - also worth heading out for!)
And if you haven't bought Kritzerland's incredibly welcome CD release of the score, I don't know what else to say except that if you like John Morris, and you like effortlessly beautiful melodies, or if you have even a passing interest in Musical Theatre as an art form, you should really pick it up.
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I understand A TIME FOR SINGING was originally presented as a more-or-less through-sung show, one of the first of its kind. (Other shows have been similarly constructed since then, such as LES MISERABLES, which, as I recall, has only about 3 spoken lines.) However, the only recording I've been able to hear for A TIME FOR SINGING has been the original lp, which I once had, and Bruce's beautiful CD release.
I managed to see the original cast of BIG, twice, I liked it so much. Great score, had some intriguing viewpoints, different from the movie, such as a plaintive song for the character as a boy, commenting on his older self actually having sex for the first time. Really good score, and fine performances. Would be interested to see how they've "revised" it. (Sometimes, revised versions aren't nearly as effective as the original. I can go on and on...)
"Musicals in Mufti" sounds like what "Encores!" used to be, though the latter has now become just this side short of full-blown productions. Which I don't mind, actually, since how else are we ever going to see any productions of these shows? Particularly those that never did very well, but still have many virtues.
This season, "Encores!" is doing Kander & Ebb's "Zorba!," which I saw 3 times with the original cast. The original was directed by Hal Prince, and it was a very good show. Then it got changed, when Anthony Quinn decided to take over, so that Herschel Bernardi in the original got eclipsed. Too bad. It will be interesting to see how this one is received.
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I understand A TIME FOR SINGING was originally presented as a more-or-less through-sung show, one of the first of its kind. (Other shows have been similarly constructed since then, such as LES MISERABLES, which, as I recall, has only about 3 spoken lines.) However, the only recording I've been able to hear for A TIME FOR SINGING has been the original lp, which I once had, and Bruce's beautiful CD release.
I managed to see the original cast of BIG, twice, I liked it so much. Great score, had some intriguing viewpoints, different from the movie, such as a plaintive song for the character as a boy, commenting on his older self actually having sex for the first time. Really good score, and fine performances. Would be interested to see how they've "revised" it. (Sometimes, revised versions aren't nearly as effective as the original. I can go on and on...)
"Musicals in Mufti" sounds like what "Encores!" used to be, though the latter has now become just this side short of full-blown productions. Which I don't mind, actually, since how else are we ever going to see any productions of these shows? Particularly those that never did very well, but still have many virtues.
This season, "Encores!" is doing Kander & Ebb's "Zorba!," which I saw 3 times with the original cast. The original was directed by Hal Prince, and it was a very good show. Then it got changed, when Anthony Quinn decided to take over, so that Herschel Bernardi in the original got eclipsed. Too bad. It will be interesting to see how this one is received.
The revised version of "Big" was actually done shortly after the show closed on Broadway, and is the version that was seen during the show's National Tour (and also the version available for licensing). I think it's a better show - the characters are more clearly defined, and there's a bit more focus to the whole thing - the additional songs are also pretty terrific. And that great song you mention, "I Want to Know" is, of course, still in it, and serves the same function.
"Mufti" has been going on for quite a while now - I still remember hearing about their production of "Rex" from years ago (shortly before I did a concert version of "Rex" in college - great score!). I love the Encores! productions too, and will be curious to hear about "Zorba." The one I was most excited about was their production of "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" last year, but alas, I couldn't make it down for it.
In any event, if you can go see "A Time for Singing," definitely go - I'm looking forward to hearing the score live and in full! The York also does talk-backs and similar events after certain performances, so there's always the possibility of an event with Mr. Morris, too.
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Anyone know where I can get a copy?